RANCHO MIRAGE In this new play by Steven Dietz, secrets spill out when three couples (pictured) who are longtime friends gather for a dinner party in an upscale suburb. Directed by Robert Walsh, it’s receiving a “rolling world premiere” from the National New Play Network in four cities, including Watertown. Through Nov. 3. New Repertory Theatre. At Charles Mosesian Theater, Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown. 617-923-8487, www.newrep.org

WATER BY THE SPOONFUL A Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by Quiara Alegría Hudes that chronicles the efforts of an emotionally adrift Iraq war veteran and his cousin, an adjunct professor of music weathering a marital breakup, to figure out the next phase of their lives. Meanwhile, a parallel narrative focuses on the relationships that evolve among a group of recovering crack addicts in an online chat room. Directed by Scott Edmiston. Oct. 18-Nov. 16. Lyric Stage Company, Boston. 617-585-5678, www.lyricstage.com

SPLENDOR A world premiere of an episodic drama by Kirsten Greenidge (“The Luck of the Irish,’’ “Bossa Nova’’) that ranges across the intersecting lives of 10 residents of a working-class suburb of Boston. They include Fran Giosa, who has returned to her hometown after a divorce, trying to cope with her volatile mother, and wrestling with whether to stay. Directed by Shawn LaCount. Oct. 18-Nov. 16. Company One. At Plaza Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.companyone.org